Fabric and method of producing the same



Patented F b. 14; 1 933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

nnnnnn'r rLArr" AND CYRIL MAITSLEY cnorrfor .essrenons TO onnnnnsnCORPORATION on mnnron,

WARE

/ FABRIC AND METHOD 0 No Drawing.

This invention relates to thetreatment of fabrics composed in part on inwhole of thermoplastic or organic derivatives of cellulose.

In the ironing of fabrics composed at least,

in part of organic derivatives of cellulose, for instance, celluloseacetate silk, care must be taken to avoid too high temperatures, sinceif the iron or calender is above 220 C. sticking of-the fabric to theiron or calender and melting of the cellulose derivative will result.While this property of such fabrics causes no more difiiculty than isencountered in the ironing of natural silk, it is desirable to raise thepermissible temperature of ironing as much as possible. More over, whenfabrics constituted as above, and particularly delustered fabrics ofthis nature, are ironed while they are damp with ironing means that areabove 100 C., the lustre of the fabric is increased. As this increase oflustre is not uniform, an irregular sheen or even'spots are produced.

An object of this invention is to treat fabric composed in whole or inpart of thermoplastic or organic derivatives of cellulose so,

as to decrease its tendency to stick to a hot v iron or calender,whereby the temperature of the ironing means may be raised withoutdanger of damage. I

Another object ofthis invention 1s to treat fabric constituted as aboveset forth, so that it may be ironed while damp with an iron at atemperature above 100 C. without caus-' mg any increase of lustre orspots.

' Another object of this invention is to treat fabiric composed in wholeor' in part of thermoplastic or organic derivatives .of cellulose with abath containing a metallic salt such as basic aluminum acetate wherebyits resistance against sticking to a hot iron is enhanced.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following detaileddescription. I

In carrying out our invention, the fabric A CORPORATION on DELA- FPRODUCING TEE Application filed October 21, 1927. Serial No. 227,856.'

CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND,

composed in whole or in part of.thermoplastic derivatives of 'celluloseor organic derivatives of cellulose is treated. The or ganic derivativesof cellulose may be organic esters of cellulose or organic ethers ofcellulose. Examples of organic esters of cellulose are celluloseformate, cellulose acetate, cellulose propionate', and cellulosebu-tyrate. Examples of organic ethers of cellulose are methyl cellulose,ethyl celluloseand benzyl cellulose. The fabric may be composed entirelyofone of the above mentioned materials or it may be composed entirely ofa .mixture of two or more of the above named materials. Furthermore, thefabric may be a mixed fabric composed of a mixture of yarns made fromanyv of the thermoplastic or organic derivatives of cellulose and ofyarns made of other fibres. Examples of such mixed fabrics are mixedcellulose acetate and natural silk, mixed cellulose acetate and wool,mixed cellulose acetate and cotton, etc. brevity, a detailed descriptionwill be given with respect to a fabric composed entirely In the interestofof cellulose acetate. However, it is" to be understood that thisinvention is not lim'-.

other organic acids such as'formic acid, may

- beused.

In one mode of carrying out our inven tron, the celluloseacetate fabric1s immersed in an aqueous bath containing from 10 grams. to 50 grams ofbasic aluminum acetate, Al(CH GOO) OH,

fper litre of solution and also containing r om 50 cc. to 100 cc. ofacetic acid per litre of solution. The temperature of the bath may beanywhere between ordinary room tem erature (15 C.) to 60 0., although Ihave ound that a bath temperature of 40 is the best. The time oftreatment also may be varied within-large limits, but we have found thatno substantial advantages accrue by prolonging the immersion over aperiod longer than 45 minutes. Asfar as we are aware, the best results.are obtained by immersing the cellulose acetate fabricin an aqueoussolution containing 10 grams of basic aluminum acetate per litre and 100acetic acid per litre maintained at a temperature of 40 0.,

for a period of 45 minutes. The fabric is then, rinsed and dried, and isnow ready forany finishing operation that is desired or necessary." I

However, it is to be understood that the conditions of treatment may bevaried within wide limits. We have used as a treating bath for thefabric, solutions containing 100 cc. of acetic acid per litre andcontaining 10 grams, 20-grams, 30 grams, 40 grams and 50 grams of basicaluminum acetate per litre. We have also used as a treating bath asolution containing 30 grams of basic alumiuum acetate and containing 50cc., 100cc., 150 -'cc.', 200 cc. and 250 cc. of

acetic acid per-litre of solution. We have also used a solutioncontaining 36 grams of basic-aluminum acetate per litre and 50 grams ofammonium .sul'phocyanide per I I litre.

This treatment of cellulose acetate fabric results in a remarkableenhancement of its properties. Thus, cellulose acetate fabric beforetreatmentby our process will melt and stick to'an iron when such iron isat a temperature above 220 (1, say 225 C. After it has been subjected tothetreatment described above, it may be iron with an iron or calendermaintained at a temperature of 230 C. or 240 C. or as high as 250 0.without sticln'ng to the ironing means. The fabric after this treatmentmay be ironed while in a damp condition with a hot iron maintained above100C. but below the sticking point, without any increase of lustre,

whereas the lustre of untreated fabric will be increased when ironed inthis manner. Furthermore, the treatment with the bath.

- ofbasic aluminum acetate, as set forth above, acts as a water-proofingagent and imparts water-proof properties to the fab-- ric. Part of thebasic aluminum acetate of the bath is incorporated-in the fabric eitheras basic aluminum acetate or as aluminum oxide as is indicated by thefact that the fabric treated in accordance with our invention has an ashcontent of anywhere from num salt.

0.12% to 1.23% and sometimes more. By variations in the proportions ofthe ingredients, we have obtained fabrics that do not stick to an ironheated to 280 (3., 240 0., 250 C. or over.

The fabric treated in accordance with our invention has a pearly luster.Furthermore, such fabric is waterproof, as is indicated by the fact thatwhen water was poured into a recess made of this fabric and waspermitted to remain overnight, no water had percolated through by thefollowing morning.

It is to be understood that the above detailed description is givenmerely by Way of illustration and that many variations may be madewithout departing from the spirit of this invention. 1

Having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1s:

1. Method of treating fabric containing thermoplastic cellulosecompounds, comprising treating the same with a solution contives ofcellulose comprising treating the same with a solution containing analumi- 5. Method of increasing the sticking point of fabric containingcellulose acetate, comprising treating the same with a solutioncontaining aluminum acetate. I

6. Methodof increasing the point of fabric containing cellulose acetatecomprising treating the same with a solution containing aluminum acetateand an acid.

7. Method of increasing the sticking point of fabric containingcellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solutioncontaining aluminum acetate and acetic acid.

stlcking '8. Method of increasing the point of fabric containingcellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solutioncontaining about 10 grams to about 50 grams of basic aluminum acetateper litre and acetic acid.

'9. Method of increasing the sticking point of fabric containingcellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solutioncontaining about 10 grams to about 50 grams of basic aluminum acetateper litre and sticking about 50 cc. to cc. of acetic acid per litre.

10. Method of increasing the sticking point of fabric containingcellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solutioncontaining about 10 grams to about 50 grams of basic aluminum acetateper litre and about 50 cc. to 100 cc. of acetic acid per litre for aperiod of about 45 minutes, said soluton having a temperature of about40 In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.

HERBERT PLATT. CYRIL MANSLEY CROFT.

